alternative facts

One would think by now that it would be hard for George Orwell and his book Nineteen Eighty-Four to be the number one bestseller on Amazon.com. After all, it was first published back in 1949 and while intended to be a work of fiction, many of the terms used in the book are now widely in use such as Big Brother and cult of personality just to name a few.

So, how did it happen, how did the book sales rise so sharply in so short a time?

Well, it looks like we have to thank President Donald Trump and his administration for this turn of phrase entering the everyday vernacular. One of the first statements made by the Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway involved a discussion with Chuck Todd of NBC news surrounding the attendance (or lack thereof) at Mr. Trumps inaugural ceremonies and the ensuing kerfuffle as new White House Press Secretary offered up some dubious numbers about the festivities. It went something like this.

The statement about “alternative facts” was widely lambasted in social media and by the so-called liberal press who deemed the term “Orwellian” in nature but outside of that, Mr. Trump and his minions have gotten pretty much a free pass on the whole matter.